Top 5 JRPG Conversions on iPhone

Best ways to relive the JRPG genre's heyday on iPhone

Within the sprawling RPG genre there is one distinctive regional off-shoot that occasionally creeps out into the mainstream spotlight: the JRPG.

Japanese Role-Playing Games are different to their western counterparts. They tend to have distinctive anime-like aesthetics, complex turn-based battle systems, and epic plots that often incorporate end-of-world scenarios and spiky haired amnesiac teens.

Such games really hit their peak in the '90s and early '00s, which is why it's great that you can get the best of them on iPhone. Here are the Top 5 JRPG conversions on iPhone.

Square Enix's Final Fantasy games represent arguably the best known JRPG series of the lot. The first of two to make this list is Final Fantasy IV, which somewhat unusually for the iOS series features the chunky 3D graphics of an earlier Nintendo DS remake.

While many have complained about this JRPG conversion's unsympathetically redrawn 2D sprite work, it's impossible to leave Final Fantasy VI off this list. Why? Because it's arguably the best game in the series, and thus one of the best JRPGs ever made.

Another lush 3D JRPG, Dragon Quest VIII is of a much later vintage than anything else on this list. It shows, too, with a significantly more sophisticated and detailed world to explore. Dragon Quest VIII has also been completely re-engineered for iPhone, with a new portrait view and one-handed controls.

While we're talking of the best JRPGs ever made, here's another that constantly vies for the top spot whenever a poll is taken. Chrono Trigger is a lot more action-based than the other games on this list, but its devilishly clever time-traveling plot and intricate mechanics ensure that it's not found wanting for depth.

This one's for the hardcore JRPG enthusiasts among you. Shin Megami Tensei was the first in a cult series from Atlus. It's not like anything else on this list, as it's first person and set in the modern day, albeit with a hefty dose of the occult stirred in. It's also extremely challenging.